I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1399 

To expand the use of E-Verify, to hold employers accountable, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 27, 2019 

Mr. BROOKS of Alabama (for himself, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. 

DESJARLAIS, Mr. BABIN, Mr. KING of Iowa, Mr. BUDD, Mr. GIBBS, Mr. 

GAETZ, Mr. BYRNE, Mr. HUNTER, Mr. HARRIS, Mr. CRAWFORD, Mr. 

GOHMERT, Mr. FORTENBERRY, Mr. POSEY, and Mr. NORMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Education and Labor, and 

Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To expand the use of E-Verify, to hold employers 

accountable, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Accountability Through Electronic Verification Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 1399 IH

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Permanent reauthorization. 

Sec. 3. Mandatory use of E-Verify. 

Sec. 4. Consequences of failure to participate. 

Sec. 5. Preemption; liability. 

Sec. 6. Expanded use of E-Verify. 

Sec. 7. Reverification. 

Sec. 8. Holding employers accountable. 

Sec. 9. Information sharing. 

Sec. 10. Form I–9 Process. 

Sec. 11. Algorithm. 

Sec. 12. Identity theft. 

Sec. 13. Small Business Demonstration Program. 

Sec. 14. Employer Compliance Inspection Center. 

1 SEC. 2. PERMANENT REAUTHORIZATION. 

2 Section 401(b) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and 

3 Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (division C of Pub4 lic Law 104–208; 8 U.S.C. 1324a note) is amended by 

5 striking ‘‘Unless the Congress otherwise provides, the Sec6 retary of Homeland Security shall terminate a pilot pro7 gram on September 30, 2015.’’. 

8 SEC. 3. MANDATORY USE OF E-VERIFY. 

9 (a) FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.—Section 402(e)(1) of 

10 the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsi11 bility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note) is amended— 

12 (1) by amending subparagraph (A) to read as 

13 follows: 

14 ‘‘(A) EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND

15 AGENCIES.—Each department and agency of 

16 the Federal Government shall participate in E17 Verify by complying with the terms and condi18 tions set forth in this section.’’; and 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 1399 IH

1 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘, that 

2 conducts hiring in a State’’ and all that follows and 

3 inserting ‘‘shall participate in E-Verify by complying 

4 with the terms and conditions set forth in this sec5 tion.’’. 

6 (b) FEDERAL CONTRACTORS; CRITICAL EMPLOY7 ERS.—Section 402(e) of such Act, as amended by sub8 section (a), is further amended— 

9 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as 

10 paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively; and 

11 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(2) UNITED STATES CONTRACTORS.—Any per14 son, employer, or other entity that enters into a con15 tract with the Federal Government shall participate 

16 in E-Verify by complying with the terms and condi17 tions set forth in this section. 

18 ‘‘(3) DESIGNATION OF CRITICAL EMPLOYERS.— 

19 Not later than 7 days after the date of the enact20 ment of this paragraph, the Secretary of Homeland 

21 Security shall— 

22 ‘‘(A) conduct an assessment of employers 

23 that are critical to the homeland security or na24 tional security needs of the United States; 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 1399 IH

1 ‘‘(B) designate and publish a list of em2 ployers and classes of employers that are 

3 deemed to be critical pursuant to the assess4 ment conducted under subparagraph (A); and 

5 ‘‘(C) require that critical employers des6 ignated pursuant to subparagraph (B) partici7 pate in E-Verify by complying with the terms 

8 and conditions set forth in this section not later 

9 than 30 days after the Secretary makes such 

10 designation.’’. 

11 (c) ALL EMPLOYERS.—Section 402 of such Act, as 

12 amended by this section, is further amended— 

13 (1) by redesignating subsection (f) as sub14 section (g); and 

15 (2) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(f) MANDATORY PARTICIPATION IN E-VERIFY.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 

19 and (3), all employers in the United States shall 

20 participate in E-Verify, with respect to all employees 

21 recruited, referred, or hired by such employer on or 

22 after the date that is 1 year after the date of the 

23 enactment of this subsection. 

24 ‘‘(2) USE OF CONTRACT LABOR.—Any employer 

25 who uses a contract, subcontract, or exchange to obVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:31 Mar 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1399.IH H1399

pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 1399 IH

1 tain the labor of an individual in the United States 

2 shall certify in such contract, subcontract, or ex3 change that the employer, and all parties to such 

4 contract, subcontract, or exchange, use E-Verify. If 

5 such certification is not included in a contract, sub6 contract, or exchange, the employer shall be deemed 

7 to have violated paragraph (1). 

8 ‘‘(3) INTERIM MANDATORY PARTICIPATION.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Before the date set 

10 forth in paragraph (1), the Secretary of Home11 land Security shall require any employer or 

12 class of employers to participate in E-Verify, 

13 with respect to all employees recruited, referred, 

14 or hired by such employer if the Secretary has 

15 reasonable cause to believe that the employer is 

16 or has been engaged in a material violation of 

17 section 274A of the Immigration and Nation18 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a). 

19 ‘‘(B) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 14 

20 days before an employer or class of employers 

21 is required to begin participating in E-Verify 

22 pursuant to subparagraph (A), the Secretary 

23 shall provide such employer or class of employ24 ers with— 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 1399 IH

1 ‘‘(i) written notification of such re2 quirement; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) appropriate training materials to 

4 facilitate compliance with such require5 ment.’’. 

6 SEC. 4. CONSEQUENCES OF FAILURE TO PARTICIPATE. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 402(e)(5) of the Illegal 

8 Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 

9 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note), as redesignated by section 

10 3(b)(1), is amended to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(5) CONSEQUENCES OF FAILURE TO PARTICI12 PATE.—If a person or other entity that is required 

13 to participate in E-Verify fails to comply with the 

14 requirements under this title with respect to an indi15 vidual— 

16 ‘‘(A) such failure shall be treated as a vio17 lation of section 274A(a)(1)(B) of the Immigra18 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a) with 

19 respect to such individual; and 

20 ‘‘(B) a rebuttable presumption is created 

21 that the person or entity has violated section 

22 274A(a)(1)(A) of such Act.’’. 

23 (b) PENALTIES.—Section 274A of the Immigration 

24 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a) is amended— 

25 (1) in subsection (e)— 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 1399 IH

1 (A) in paragraph (4)— 

2 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

3 (I) in the matter preceding clause 

4 (i), by inserting ‘‘, subject to para5 graph (10),’’ after ‘‘in an amount’’; 

6 (II) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘not 

7 less than $250 and not more than 

8 $2,000’’ and inserting ‘‘not less than 

9 $2,500 and not more than $5,000’’; 

10 (III) in clause (ii), by striking 

11 ‘‘not less than $2,000 and not more 

12 than $5,000’’ and inserting ‘‘not less 

13 than $5,000 and not more than 

14 $10,000’’; and 

15 (IV) in clause (iii), by striking 

16 ‘‘not less than $3,000 and not more 

17 than $10,000’’ and inserting ‘‘not less 

18 than $10,000 and not more than 

19 $25,000’’; and 

20 (ii) by amending subparagraph (B) to 

21 read as follows: 

22 ‘‘(B) may require the person or entity to 

23 take such other remedial action as is appro24 priate.’’; 

25 (B) in paragraph (5)— 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 1399 IH

1 (i) by inserting ‘‘, subject to para2 graphs (10) through (12),’’ after ‘‘in an 

3 amount’’; 

4 (ii) by striking ‘‘$100 and not more 

5 than $1,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$1,000 and 

6 not more than $25,000’’; 

7 (iii) by striking ‘‘the size of the busi8 ness of the employer being charged, the 

9 good faith of the employer’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘the good faith of the employer being 

11 charged’’; and 

12 (iv) by adding at the end the fol13 lowing: ‘‘Failure by a person or entity to 

14 utilize the employment eligibility 

15 verification system as required by law, or 

16 providing information to the system that 

17 the person or entity knows or reasonably 

18 believes to be false, shall be treated as a 

19 violation of subsection (a)(1)(A).’’; and 

20 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(10) EXEMPTION FROM PENALTY.—In the 

22 case of the imposition of a civil penalty under para23 graph (4)(A) with respect to a violation of para24 graph (1)(A) or (2) of subsection (a) for hiring, con25 tinuation of employment, recruitment, or referral by 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 1399 IH

1 a person or entity and, in the case of the imposition 

2 of a civil penalty under paragraph (5) for a violation 

3 of subsection (a)(1)(B) for hiring, recruitment, or 

4 referral by a person or entity, the penalty otherwise 

5 imposed may be waived or reduced if the violator es6 tablishes that the violator acted in good faith. 

7 ‘‘(11) AUTHORITY TO DEBAR EMPLOYERS FOR

8 CERTAIN VIOLATIONS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a person or entity 

10 is determined by the Secretary of Homeland Se11 curity to be a repeat violator of paragraph 

12 (1)(A) or (2) of subsection (a), or is convicted 

13 of a crime under this section, the Secretary of 

14 Homeland Security shall debar such person or 

15 entity from the receipt of Federal contracts, 

16 grants, or cooperative agreements in accordance 

17 with the debarment standards and pursuant to 

18 the debarment procedures set forth in the Fed19 eral Acquisition Regulation. 

20 ‘‘(B) DOES NOT HAVE CONTRACT, GRANT, 

21 AGREEMENT.—If the Secretary of Homeland 

22 Security debars a person or entity in accord23 ance with this paragraph, and such person or 

24 entity does not hold a Federal contract, grant 

25 or cooperative agreement, the Administrator of 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 1399 IH

1 General Services shall include the person or en2 tity on the List of Parties Excluded from Fed3 eral Procurement for 5 years. 

4 ‘‘(C) HAS CONTRACT, GRANT, AGREE5 MENT.—If the Secretary of Homeland Security 

6 debars a person or entity in accordance with 

7 this paragraph, and such person or entity holds 

8 a Federal contract, grant or cooperative agree9 ment, the Secretary— 

10 ‘‘(i) shall notify all agencies or depart11 ments holding a contract, grant, or cooper12 ative agreement with the debarred person 

13 or entity of such debarment; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) after soliciting and considering 

15 the views of all such agencies and depart16 ments, may waive the operation of this 

17 paragraph. 

18 ‘‘(D) REVIEW.—Any decision to debar a 

19 person or entity under in accordance with this 

20 paragraph shall be reviewable pursuant to part 

21 9.4 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation.’’; 

22 and 

23 (2) in subsection (f)— 

24 (A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as 

25 follows: 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 1399 IH

1 ‘‘(1) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—Any person or enti2 ty which engages in a pattern or practice of viola3 tions of subsection (a)(1) or (2) shall be fined not 

4 more than $30,000 for each unauthorized alien with 

5 respect to which such a violation occurs, imprisoned 

6 for not less than 1 year and not more than 10 years, 

7 or both, notwithstanding the provisions of any other 

8 Federal law relating to fine levels.’’; and 

9 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Attor10 ney General’’ each place it appears and insert11 ing ‘‘Secretary of Homeland Security’’. 

12 SEC. 5. PREEMPTION; LIABILITY. 

13 Section 402 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and 

14 Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a 

15 note), as amended by this Act, is further amended by add16 ing at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(h) LIMITATION ON STATE AUTHORITY.— 

18 ‘‘(1) PREEMPTION.—A State or local govern19 ment may not prohibit a person or other entity from 

20 verifying the employment authorization of new hires 

21 or current employees through E-Verify. 

22 ‘‘(2) LIABILITY.—A person or other entity that 

23 participates in E-Verify may not be held liable under 

24 any Federal, State, or local law for any employment25 related action taken with respect to the wrongful 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 1399 IH

1 termination of an individual in good faith reliance on 

2 information provided through E-Verify.’’. 

3 SEC. 6. EXPANDED USE OF E-VERIFY. 

4 Section 403(a)(3)(A) of the Illegal Immigration Re5 form and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 

6 1324a note) is amended to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.— 

8 ‘‘(i) BEFORE HIRING.—The person or 

9 other entity may verify the employment eli10 gibility of an individual through E-Verify 

11 before the individual is hired, recruited, or 

12 referred if the individual consents to such 

13 verification. If an employer receives a ten14 tative nonconfirmation for an individual, 

15 the employer shall comply with procedures 

16 prescribed by the Secretary of Homeland 

17 Security, including— 

18 ‘‘(I) providing the individual em19 ployees with private, written notifica20 tion of the finding and written refer21 ral instructions; 

22 ‘‘(II) allowing the individual to 

23 contest the finding; and 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 1399 IH

1 ‘‘(III) not taking adverse action 

2 against the individual if the individual 

3 chooses to contest the finding. 

4 ‘‘(ii) AFTER EMPLOYMENT OFFER.— 

5 The person or other entity shall verify the 

6 employment eligibility of an individual 

7 through E-Verify not later than 3 days 

8 after the date of the hiring, recruitment, or 

9 referral, as the case may be. 

10 ‘‘(iii) EXISTING EMPLOYEES.—Not 

11 later than 1 year after the date of the en12 actment of the Accountability Through 

13 Electronic Verification Act, the Secretary 

14 shall require all employers to use E-Verify 

15 to verify the identity and employment eligi16 bility of any individual who has not been 

17 previously verified by the employer through 

18 E-Verify.’’. 

19 SEC. 7. REVERIFICATION. 

20 Section 403(a) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and 

21 Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a 

22 note), as amended by section 6, is further amended by 

23 adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(5) REVERIFICATION.—Each person or other 

25 entity participating in E-Verify shall use the EVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:31 Mar 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1399.IH H1399

pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 1399 IH

1 Verify confirmation system to reverify the work au2 thorization of any individual not later than 3 days 

3 after the date on which such individual’s employ4 ment authorization is scheduled to expire (as indi5 cated by the Secretary or the documents provided to 

6 the employer pursuant to section 274A(b) of the Im7 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a(b))), 

8 in accordance with the procedures set forth in this 

9 subsection and section 402.’’. 

10 SEC. 8. HOLDING EMPLOYERS ACCOUNTABLE. 

11 (a) CONSEQUENCES OF NONCONFIRMATION.—Sec12 tion 403(a)(4)(C) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and 

13 Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a 

14 note) is amended to read as follows: 

15 ‘‘(C) CONSEQUENCES OF NONCONFIRMA16 TION.— 

17 ‘‘(i) TERMINATION AND NOTIFICA18 TION.—If the person or other entity re19 ceives a final nonconfirmation regarding an 

20 individual, the employer shall imme21 diately— 

22 ‘‘(I) terminate the employment, 

23 recruitment, or referral of the indi24 vidual; and 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
15 

•HR 1399 IH

1 ‘‘(II) submit to the Secretary any 

2 information relating to the individual 

3 that the Secretary determines would 

4 assist the Secretary in enforcing or 

5 administering United States immigra6 tion laws. 

7 ‘‘(ii) CONSEQUENCE OF CONTINUED

8 EMPLOYMENT.—If the person or other en9 tity continues to employ, recruit, or refer 

10 the individual after receiving final noncon11 firmation, a rebuttable presumption is cre12 ated that the employer has violated section 

13 274A of the Immigration and Nationality 

14 Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a).’’. 

15 (b) INTERAGENCY NONCONFIRMATION REPORT.— 

16 Section 405 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immi17 grant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note) 

18 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(c) INTERAGENCY NONCONFIRMATION REPORT.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of U.S. Citi21 zenship and Immigration Services shall submit a 

22 weekly report to the Assistant Secretary of Immigra23 tion and Customs Enforcement that includes, for 

24 each individual who receives final nonconfirmation 

25 through E-Verify— 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
16 

•HR 1399 IH

1 ‘‘(A) the name of such individual; 

2 ‘‘(B) his or her Social Security number or 

3 alien file number; 

4 ‘‘(C) the name and contact information for 

5 his or her current employer; and 

6 ‘‘(D) any other critical information that 

7 the Assistant Secretary determines to be appro8 priate. 

9 ‘‘(2) USE OF WEEKLY REPORT.—The Secretary 

10 of Homeland Security shall use information provided 

11 under paragraph (1) to enforce compliance of the 

12 United States immigration laws.’’. 

13 SEC. 9. INFORMATION SHARING. 

14 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

15 of this Act, the Commissioner of Social Security, the Com16 missioner of Internal Revenue, the Secretary of Homeland 

17 Security, and the Secretary of the Treasury shall jointly 

18 establish a program to share information among such 

19 agencies that may or could lead to the identification of 

20 unauthorized aliens (as defined under section 274A(h)(3) 

21 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

22 1324a(h)(3))), including no-match letters and any infor23 mation in the earnings suspense file. 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
17 

•HR 1399 IH

1 SEC. 10. FORM I–9 PROCESS. 

2 Not later than 9 months after date of the enactment 

3 of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall sub4 mit a report to Congress that contains recommendations 

5 for— 

6 (1) modifying and simplifying the process by 

7 which employers are required to complete and retain 

8 a Form I–9 for each employee pursuant to section 

9 274A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

10 U.S.C. 1324a); and 

11 (2) eliminating the process described in para12 graph (1). 

13 SEC. 11. ALGORITHM. 

14 Section 404(d) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and 

15 Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a 

16 note) is amended to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(d) DESIGN AND OPERATION OF SYSTEM.—E18 Verify shall be designed and operated— 

19 ‘‘(1) to maximize its reliability and ease of use 

20 by employers; 

21 ‘‘(2) to insulate and protect the privacy and se22 curity of the underlying information; 

23 ‘‘(3) to maintain appropriate administrative, 

24 technical, and physical safeguards to prevent unau25 thorized disclosure of personal information; 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
18 

•HR 1399 IH

1 ‘‘(4) to respond accurately to all inquiries made 

2 by employers on whether individuals are authorized 

3 to be employed; 

4 ‘‘(5) to register any time when E-Verify is un5 able to receive inquiries; 

6 ‘‘(6) to allow for auditing use of the system to 

7 detect fraud and identify theft; 

8 ‘‘(7) to preserve the security of the information 

9 in all of the system by— 

10 ‘‘(A) developing and using algorithms to 

11 detect potential identity theft, such as multiple 

12 uses of the same identifying information or doc13 uments; 

14 ‘‘(B) developing and using algorithms to 

15 detect misuse of the system by employers and 

16 employees; 

17 ‘‘(C) developing capabilities to detect 

18 anomalies in the use of the system that may in19 dicate potential fraud or misuse of the system; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(D) auditing documents and information 

22 submitted by potential employees to employers, 

23 including authority to conduct interviews with 

24 employers and employees; 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
19 

•HR 1399 IH

1 ‘‘(8) to confirm identity and work authorization 

2 through verification of records maintained by the 

3 Secretary, other Federal departments, States, the 

4 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or 

5 an outlying possession of the United States, as de6 termined necessary by the Secretary, including— 

7 ‘‘(A) records maintained by the Social Se8 curity Administration; 

9 ‘‘(B) birth and death records maintained 

10 by vital statistics agencies of any State or other 

11 jurisdiction in the United States; 

12 ‘‘(C) passport and visa records (including 

13 photographs) maintained by the Department of 

14 State; and 

15 ‘‘(D) State driver’s license or identity card 

16 information (including photographs) maintained 

17 by State department of motor vehicles; 

18 ‘‘(9) to electronically confirm the issuance of 

19 the employment authorization or identity document; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(10) to display the digital photograph that the 

22 issuer placed on the document so that the employer 

23 can compare the photograph displayed to the photo24 graph on the document presented by the employee 

25 or, in exceptional cases, if a photograph is not availVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:31 Mar 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1399.IH H1399

pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
20 

•HR 1399 IH

1 able from the issuer, to provide for a temporary al2 ternative procedure, specified by the Secretary, for 

3 confirming the authenticity of the document.’’. 

4 SEC. 12. IDENTITY THEFT. 

5 Section 1028 of title 18, United States Code, is 

6 amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (a)(7), by striking ‘‘of another 

8 person’’ and inserting ‘‘that is not his or her own’’; 

9 and 

10 (2) in subsection (b)(3)— 

11 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘or’’ 

12 at the end; 

13 (B) in subparagraph (C), by adding ‘‘or’’ 

14 at the end; and 

15 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(D) to facilitate or assist in harboring or 

17 hiring unauthorized workers in violation of sec18 tion 274, 274A, or 274C of the Immigration 

19 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324, 1324a, 

20 and 1324c).’’. 

21 SEC. 13. SMALL BUSINESS DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM. 

22 Section 403 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and 

23 Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a 

24 note), as amended by this Act, is further amended— 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
21 

•HR 1399 IH

1 (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub2 section (e); and 

3 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(d) SMALL BUSINESS DEMONSTRATION PRO6 GRAM.—Not later than 9 months after the date of the en7 actment of the Accountability Through Electronic 

8 Verification Act, the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Im9 migration Services shall establish a demonstration pro10 gram that assists small businesses in rural areas or areas 

11 without internet capabilities to verify the employment eli12 gibility of newly hired employees solely through the use 

13 of publicly accessible internet terminals.’’. 

14 SEC. 14. EMPLOYER COMPLIANCE INSPECTION CENTER. 

15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established, within 

16 Homeland Security Investigations of U.S. Immigration 

17 and Customs Enforcement, the Employer Compliance In18 spection Center (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Cen19 ter’’). 

20 (b) PURPOSES.—The establishment of the Center is 

21 intended— 

22 (1) to create a culture of compliance for all 

23 United States businesses by imposing more effective, 

24 efficient, and standardized consequences, including 

25 civil and criminal penalties, on employers who fail to 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
22 

•HR 1399 IH

1 comply with the employment eligibility verification 

2 requirements; and 

3 (2) to consolidate worksite enforcement audits 

4 at a centralized location to ensure a standardized 

5 process and uniform application of the fine matrix. 

6 (c) DUTIES.—The Center shall— 

7 (1) carry out duties related to the processing of 

8 the Employment Eligibility Verification Form I–9, 

9 including audits, and related worksite enforcement 

10 investigations; 

11 (2) ensure that all United States businesses ad12 here to existing laws and regulations regarding em13 ployment eligibility; and 

14 (3) carry out such additional duties as may be 

15 assigned or delegated by the Director of U.S. Immi16 gration and Customs Enforcement. 

17 (d) RESPONSE TIME.—The Center shall respond as 

18 quickly as practicable to employer inquiries based on the 

19 facts and circumstances of the employer making the in20 quiry. 

21 (e) TASK FORCE.—The Center shall establish a task 

22 force, utilizing existing information sharing agreements 

23 with other Federal agencies, including the Social Security 

24 Administration, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Serv25 ices, the Department of Labor, and the Internal Revenue 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
23 

•HR 1399 IH

1 Service, to serve as a force multiplier to proactively inves2 tigate crimes, including Social Security fraud, tax fraud, 

3 and wage and hour violations. 

Æ 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS